It has been said that laughter is good for you. According to the MayoClinic people, it can: “Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain. Activate and relieve your stress response.”
That said, it lifts up your face, puts a happy smile on your whole being and on days like today when nothing much is happening and it is cloudy and windy outside, it helps to bump up your mood.
Here are some quotes to get you laughing and put a smile on your face as it did on mine.
“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” Woman’s Day
This is one of my favorite pastimes. It is my way to relax and to entertain myself.
I’ve always loved watching clouds go by and as a young girl I used to watch them for hours on end. Sometimes with friends and often alone. The game was to make out what they looked like. I mostly saw angels while my friends came up with some doozies!
I think that the young girl is still within me. Some days I can sit outside for hours on end and just watch as I see the angels floating by! During my walks, I do the same thing. Of course, the fields are a perfect place to cloud watch!
It is relaxing, soothing, calming and a great way to reel back an overactive mind and to give it some breathing space!
It started two days ago. A message popped up on my phone and I listened to it. It was a guy reciting a love letter. I didn’t pay it mind as I thought he had sent the message to the wrong person. On the same day, I got several other messages all in the same vein.
It was time to get a little nervous. There was no name but there was a pic, darkened and I couldn’t make out his features. The day after, I got a few more messages all talking about love. Now, all kinds of “stuff” started showing up in my head. I had been a victim of a stalker many years ago and that guy kept me captive psychologically and the after-effects are still felt today in the way I react to the world around me. The thing is, I am across the pond so it couldn’t be the same guy.
Anyway, yesterday I received a message in the morning that said, “Hi Tia, LOVE OF MY LIFE!” I froze. Who is this person? So I answered, “What?!!! Who are you?” No answer. Then silence. Later in the day, I got this, “This is goodbye, this is the last message.” It had a broken heart emoji attached to it.
Wow! He got my attention and how! I double-locked the doors, made sure all the shatters were down and everything was in a shutdown mode! Then I locked the bedroom door and placed something behind it. As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep well at all and every little noise had me jumping. To make matters worse, Chachi, the cat, came down this morning and refused to go into the kitchen. He kept sniffing at a corner. I looked around but there was nothing that looked different. Nothing from the guy until a few minutes ago. It said, “Hi Tia, cheating is hurtful and only people of low intelligence do that.”
I agreed with him but then it dawned on me that the message was aimed at me! What is he going on about?!! I looked outside my front door but there was nothing. I did a walk around the house outside and no signs of any tampering.
However, this is scary stuff. What am I going to do about it? I really don’t know. I’ll have to see how this progresses but tonight I will do the same. Make sure everything is locked down and have the phone close to me just in case!
It marches in with wet boots, ruffled hair and a “I don’t care attitude!” Time to blow the leaves off the trees, turn whatever remains into a palette of breathtaking colors and to brush everything with a golden light when the rain leaves and takes a break.
Saturday was that kind of day. Wet, windy, gloomy and miserable and yet there was a certain kind of magic in the air. A heralding of things to come. One of beauty in a subdued manner.
MG Mason in his piece, “Writing the Seasons: Autumn” describes it beautifully as he captures the essence of fall through his words.
“It is getting colder and darker; leaves are falling from the trees. There is a chill in the air overnight, frost on the ground in the morning, mist and fog in the air. Dry, dead leaves crunch beneath your feet and clouds appear when you breathe out. There is still a lingering warmth but always a constant reminder of the cold to come.”
Fall has its moments as it prepares to make a showing but it is all part and parcel of the season. There has to be moments of unrest as it prepares to show its clout when it finally arrives and makes a show-stopping display. I, for one, can’t wait to see its full beauty as it steps out wearing its dress of many colors.
The rain has stopped but there is a definite chill in the air. The wind is picking up speed as the trees sway back and forth creating music of their own. In a way, there is a little sadness as summer waves goodbye and moves on to make way for another season to step in. It is only a matter of time before we welcome the beauty of fall, glorious fall, with colors that will take your breath away.
“You can pickup a mistake and carry it as a burden, or you can set it down and use it as a stepping stone to greatness.” Unknown
It has been said that a mistake is usually “an action, decision, or judgement that produces an unwanted or unintentional results.” Quite often than not, the unintentional results can be painful, it makes us doubt ourselves and our judgement of others. It also means that the outcome did not meet our expectations. Therefore, it was time wasted or more appropriately it was an investment that did not put forth what it was meant to do.
There are different kinds of mistakes. It can be related to cheating on a partner, allowing people to push you around, dating or marrying the wrong person, refusing to listen to good advice or quite simply a frivolous disregard to what is staring you in the face. It’s there as plain as day, it is clear that it’s a mistake to carry on and yet because of the time and energy spent in chasing that dream, whatever it maybe for you, we refuse to call it quits and move on. We refuse to accept it as a lesson learned or as a stepping stone to something better.
“A mistake that keeps being repeated is not a mistake, it’s a choice.” Unknown
Just like it is in Groundhog’s Day, we see a “series of unwelcome or tedious events appear to be recurring in exactly the same way,” and this is not only boring and irritating but it’s time to get off that emotional roller coaster and head for greener pastures. The choices we make are hard at times. I know that quite often I am stuck on redial. I know that I should hang up and start anew but the human side or rather the foolish side wants to hang on for just a while longer knowing full well that I should count it as a lost cause, sunken cost as they say in business, take the lesson learned with me and make the decision to not do it ever again. Sunk costs basically means “that costs have been incurred by past actions and they cannot be recovered and they are not relevant to our future decisions,” and yet we choose to repeat it over and over again. I am human, I say, but that is putting it mildly!
Perhaps, it would be easier if we can forget the mistakes but remember the lessons we’ve learned from our walks into the big wide world of MISTAKES LAND and believe me it is a jungle out there. We’ve all made them, we’ll continue to make them and more likely than not we’ll rush in with our eyes wide open BUT it is the picking up, dusting off and the moving on bit that matters here. Here’s to mistakes both big and small. Bring them on!
“When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.” Paul Bear Bryant
If I lost all my possessions, I would be sad which is a normal reaction. Possessions are things or stuff that we accumulate in our day to day existence. It builds up over time and it has memories and importance attached to them.
Losing my possessions would make me feel like I’m lost but if I step back and look at it from a distance instead of smack dap in the middle of it, they are just “things” after all. Sure, it will be a painful experience and some things cannot be replaced but it wouldn’t mean the end of the world. Just like with anything else, it means accepting the loss, rebuilding again and moving on.
Not easy to do and I hope it never happens, but if it does life still goes on and that is the truth of the matter.
Daily writing prompt
What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
I have mixed feelings about this book trailer. Parts of it are good and some parts could have been better I think. Like I’ve said before, I’m my own worst critic.
What’s the book about? It is about two unlikely characters, Honey, a miniature Greyhound, and Hubie, a pond frog. Together they venture out on an excellent adventure and along the way meet some fantastic creatures. It is a wild ride into a magical world of colorful characters that will definitely capture and hold children’s imagination.
The eBook version is live on Amazon. Please be kind with your ratings and or reviews.
I was listening to Matthew Hussey, a well-known dating coach the other day. What he had to say was mind-blowing if not eye-opening. He pointed out that women fall for the wrong types all the time. He mentioned that quite often the red flags are there, clearly visible but we choose not to see it. Instead of putting a stop right there and then, we walk in with our eyes wide open.
He talked about seven signs that women should pay attention to and if those signs are clear and present, RUN is his advice! I’ve seen some of them myself and like those women he talks about in his podcast, I went in with my eyes wide open and was led to the slaughter willingly!
Here are the 7 signs.
1) I don’t want to hurt you or I don’t want to lead you on.
According to Matthew, he is giving you fair warning that it is exactly what he is about to do, hurt you that is, only he thinks that by being upfront about his intention, it will tamper the pain that is to follow. This line basically gives him the permission to mistreat you but with your consent! The ball is in your court and most women fall for it. He’s also telling you that he is not in it for the long run only for what he can get both emotionally and physically. If he finds someone better, he will leave in a heartbeat! RUN if you hear those words.
2) You deserve better than me.
Instead of saying, “You’re probably right,” we fall for this hook, line and sinker! According to Matthew, this is mental warfare at its best. What happens when you hear that line? You do the opposite and that is what he is counting on. It is manipulation at the smartest level and you can bet your bottom dollar that he has done it before. This opens up the field for him to use, abuse and mistreat you. RUN!
3) I’m not looking for anything serious right now.
Hmm…a good one and this one tells you what you need to know. Instead of running in the opposite direction and never looking back, this one has a certain pull and mystery about it. Let’s dive in and find out. You don’t really want to know because if he is telling you upfront that he is not serious, listen and keep moving. However, if you go in knowing what the outcome will be then you only have yourself to blame right? It is not as simple as that. These loser types know how to play the game, terrible though it might be. He is counting on you to accept what he is putting out there and in a way, he feels that he has been honest but in an insidious way. He is offering NOTHING from the get go. RUN!
4) You knew what this was.
What?!! Come again? The problem with this is that they expect the emotional and physical contact but with no strings attached. They’ll walk in a heartbeat if someone better walks in and it doesn’t matter if you’re holding your broken heart in your hands. It is all about them. The other thing is if it was nothing then they should have kept their emotions and hands to themselves! Try pointing that out to them but there is no winning with this one. He was never serious in the first place and it was all a manipulation tactic played like a pro.
5) I don’t want to ruin our friendship.
Hey buddy, if it was just friendship you should have stopped with the love scam you were pulling! Friendship is one thing and a relationship is another. If there are feelings involved and you played it to the hilt, then it wasn’t just friendship, it was something more. However, these losers are all about themselves so don’t ask them to own up to it. They never will. It’s a cruel game and they know it. RUN!
6) Why do we need to put a label on it?
According to them labels such as “girlfriend” which eventually leads to something more serious is unnecessary in the world they live and operate in. They want to keep it open so that they can walk when the time suits them. Here again, it is all about them. That line is meant to keep his options open. Labels are part of the norm in the normal relationship spectrum of things but as far as these guys are concerned, they march to a different drumbeat, it is one of using, abusing and discarding. RUN!
7) You’re different from other women I’ve dated.
Wow, how poetic! This one sounds like the ultimate compliment but there is deceit involved with this one as well. They hold you up as someone special only to make you complicit in their mistreatment of you. According to Matthew, it is done to hide their emotional unavailability. This tactic is psychologically damaging because you find yourself in a game of not knowing where you stand and that is part of the plan. They’ll keep you guessing as long as you serve a purpose, one of boosting their ego. The cruelty is that you cater to their needs hoping that they will see you as this caring person and they will eventually choose you. The truth is YOU ARE NOT THE ONE! Instead of being honest, they dance around and pull you into the fray disregarding the hurt they will cause when they take off in another direction later on. RUN!
Matthew is quick to point out that not all men are like that. However, speaking from experience, I say there are plenty out there who are. Take it slow, keep your eyes open, observe carefully and if you see any of those signs above, do not hesitate. just do this. RUN!
This is an issue that still grips me today. I used to be against the taking of a life and the death sentence was a no go as far as I was concerned until the day someone took my mother’s life.
My world got turned upside down and at the forefront was the issue of the death sentence. I was so sure that she (the perpetrator) would get the death penalty. I was so wrong but the problem was that I was sitting on the fence wanting it to happen, the death penalty to be handed down, and at the same time I wasn’t so sure. It was a time of deep unrest and turmoil of the worst kind.
I changed from someone who was against capital punishment to someone who thought that “an eye for an eye” was the way to go. Since I couldn’t do it myself, believe me I wanted to, I would let the justice system mete out the punishment. SHE deserved to die for what she had done! That was my rallying cry at the time.
The decision was not in my hands. The verdict was manslaughter to a lesser degree. Outrage? Absolutely. Why? I don’t know. Some technicality, it was said. Anyway, at some point in time while I was raging about the unfairness of it all, I looked in the mirror and saw someone else emerging. A person filled with anger, rage and revenge. I didn’t like what I saw.
I’ve changed my views on the death penalty since then. It’s a matter of survival for me. I needed to let go of the “demon” holding me in its grip. Rage and revenge had no place in my life. My mom is in a better place and so I decided to let it be. Basically, capital punishment does not deter crime but more importantly, the death penalty would not have brought my mom back to life.
I’ve changed my mind and I’m back to where I was in the beginning. No death penalty. One source says that capital punishment “constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, which is prohibited under international human rights standards.” I still ask the question, “Did my mom get the justice she deserved.” The answer is a resounding NO! However, capital punishment would not have made it better either.
Daily writing prompt
What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?
Fall is here and the mornings are covered in fog but by about 8:30 in the morning, the sun peeks out with blurry eyes as it tries to burn off some of the haze covering the mountains and the fields. It takes awhile before the fields are visible and the mountains are no longer hidden from view.
Today was no different. I was out there very early and not a single soul was in sight. A lone rabbit was sunning itself in the lukewarm sunshine, I guess tanking up energy for the rest of the day. One heron was visible as it stood alone pretending to not notice the human coming up the hill and heading towards its direction. The apple trees were still shrouded in white their spindly branches showing their fall cover. Not much to speak of as the apples are mostly gone and just a few leaves remain and these two will be gone in a week or two. The fields are bare, ready for their winter sleep. However, the cornfield is still there bare of corncobs but still standing straight and tall. Stephen King sure did spoil it for us didn’t he? I can’t look at cornfields without horrific images coming to mind. It is the same today as I pass them their leaves moving softly with the breeze. I try not to look in their direction as I pass them, my steps picking up pace!
Pulling my jacket closer around me to keep the cold at bay, I head to the open fields. It is cold today. As I reach the top of the hill, the rising sun is blazing orange as it heralds another beautiful fall day. Just the other day, I met my neighbor who was walking her dog and we chatted for a while. She said, gorgeous days are ahead and she wasn’t wrong about that. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and it never fails to mesmerize with its beauty. No, the leaves haven’t changed yet but they will soon enough and the whole place will be filled with color, blazing oranges, warm golds and rustic reds. It will be a sight to behold.
As I make my way back, my mind cleared of the cobwebs that had gathered there last night, I am ready to get going and to be grateful for another gorgeous day. It is going to be a beautiful day folks.
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